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Wakefield to tutor knuckleballer Wright

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FORT MYERS, Fla. -- A familiar face will be back in Red Sox camp next week to help out a not-so-familiar face.

Tim Wakefield has been summoned by John Farrell to come to JetBlue Park and meet with Steven Wright, the knuckleball-tossing right-hander the Red Sox acquired from the Indians last year. Though Wright throws his knuckler harder than Wakefield did, there is a benefit, Farrell believes, to having the two team up.

"Understanding what worked well for Wake is not to say it's going to be the same set of checkpoints for Steven," Farrell said. "But that's a tight-knit fraternity. To have Wake as a resource, he's more than willing to share some of his thoughts and talk about it."

Wright, 28, reinvented himself as a knuckleballer three years ago, after a demotion from Triple-A to Double-A had his career going backward. He was a respectable 10-7 with a 2.54 ERA in 25 starts at the Double-A and Triple-A levels last year, so he's an interesting option for the Red Sox.

"I think it's a little premature to talk about Steven, not knowing him very well," Farrell said. "It's going to take a few outings to get a feel for him."